– A former children’s home worker has been sentenced to eight years in prison for child abuse committed in the 1970s. John Cowan, 72, was found guilty at Harrow Crown Court of sexually abusing six children at a care home in Ealing. He was convicted on nine counts of indecent assault and two counts of gross indecency. Cowan, of Littlebourne, Hither Green in Lewisham, was tracked down after a victim went to police in January 2013.